Karnataka cops finally solve 18-month-old gold theft case — by brain-mapping the accused

Arrested domestic help Annapurna E Aneppanawar. (Supplied)

Even after 18 month of investigating the theft, the case was stuck, despite the cops zeroing in on the prime suspect — the elderly couple’s domestic help Annapurna E Aneppanawar, who repeatedly insisted that she was innocent and had nothing to do with the theft.

“We had questioned Annapurna a number of times, but she kept maintaining that she had not taken the jewellery. There was no scientific or technical evidence against her, such as a phone call that she could have made to someone to pledge the gold, or to any gold pawn shop where she could have pawned the gold, etc,” the IO told South First.

The cops had been as thorough as possible. They had even visited pawn shops near where Annapurna lived and worked, hoping that they would stumble upon some receipts in her name, but in vain.

Though the gold was stolen from the house in small quantities over the eight months that Annapurna worked at the elderly couple’s house in 2021, the theft came to light only in January 2022 — after she had quit — when the couple realised that the jewellery was missing.

While quitting, Annapurna had told them that she was going back to her hometown in Gadag district.

The couple suspected Annapurna’s hand in the theft and lodged a complaint with the Mahalakshmi Layout police.

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The polygraph test

As part of the investigation, the Mahalakshmi Layout police decided to subject Annapurna to a polygraph test after getting the court’s permission.

A polygraph test, also known as a lie detector test, is conducted on suspects by medical professionals who measure and record physiological activities such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity to detect if the suspect is lying when posed with series of questions.

“Before subjecting a suspect to polygraph testing and/or brain mapping, the FSL experts have a session with the complainant in the case and the investigating officer to ascertain the background of the incident and its relationship with the suspect,” police inspector Raju DL, SHO of Mahalakshmi Layout police station, explained to South First.

When Annapurna was subjected to the polygraph test, the FSL experts, in their report, said that there were indicators stating that the subject was attempting to conceal some information when certain questions were posed.

Soon after she came out of the polygraph test, the cops questioned her once again, but Annapurna still maintained that she had not committed any theft.

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The brain mapping test

After the circular on the brain-mapping test, the police again approached court for permission to do the on the suspect. And, on 6 and 7 March, the Mahalakshmi Layout police subjected Annapurna to the brain mapping test at the FSL in Madiwala.

During the brain mapping test, she inadvertently gave hints to the FSL experts — murmuring “mama” in Kannada, meaning “uncle”.

FSL experts passed on this hint to the cops who contacted Annapurna’s uncle in Gadag who spilled the beans.

On 7 July, a team of police went to Gadag and arrested Annapurna and questioned her uncle who told the police that he had pawned the gold jewellery that his niece had given him.

He claimed, however, that he did not know that it was stolen gold as Annapurna told him that she had earned and saved up money to buy that gold.

The cops recovered around 130 gm of gold from the pawn shop and made Annapurna’s uncle a witness in the case.

“The case will be charge-sheeted soon and submitted to the court,” said inspector Raju DL.